There is literally a club.

Next time Ayu releases something new, be sure to check out all of the threads and you'll see just how many people feel the same way as you. Maybe just continue appreciating what she's done in the past and be hopeful for future releases...? And while her music may change, Ayu is still Ayu at the very least.

I really agree with what emiko said. I feel almost exactly like the original poster. I just realized that no matter how much I wish it would, the MY STORY/(miss)understood era Ayu that I became a fan of isn't coming back. It sucks. :weep haha But I still support Ayu and try to get into her new works and when I can't, I listen to MY STORY and it I'm happy anyway.

It'd be great if she did end up heading back in that direction, but I don't have any hopes. xD

Her music has gotten quite boring. It just seems to be one uninspired ballad after another and they're all piano driven and sound the same.

One of my biggest problems is that of late her singles will have this 'typical' sound or whatever you wanna call it then when she releases the album the singles sharply contrast the album tracks making for very bad flow and a 'bad' sounding album (i.e NEXT LEVEL, Rock N Roll Circus).

I think what the issue is, is that she has stopping taking risk and playing it safe (her taking risks was one of the big reason there was that big avex fall out in '04), instead of choosing the more riskier melody she chooses the safe melody (probably to maintain her hit streak) that tends to sound generic. And you know the next single is probably going to be a ballad since christmas is coming up.

I find that if there is a new Ayu piece -- be it a song, a single, or an album -- that doesn't immediately hit all the right spots for me, I give it a few weeks, ignore it, then come back to it with fresh ears. Typically this is enough time for me to find things I like about the work, and I can enjoy it as it stands on its own, and not waste time comparing it to her previous eras.

I'm not saying anyone is wasting time by doing this, not at all, I just think people need to start dividing Ayu releases into segments and taking what they do like and what they still need time to work on even mildly enjoying and not being so quick to dismiss what they don't like right away. For starters, I couldn't stand the NEXT LEVEL album. I've only listened to it about two or three times since it came out. R'nRC on the other hand is something I've listened to dozens of times, on par with MY STORY and (m)u. I find R'n'RC as varied and interesting to the eras as those albums, even if the tracklists don't have the same "flow." They're triplet albums, in my eyes. Nowadays I've gone back and tried to give NEXT LEVEL a new chance based on how much I really liked her recent album and voila, I'm finding it isn't so bad. Is it a good album? Eh, it's all right. It'll take me a little while to really figure out for sure how I feel about it, but I'm not going to pine and moan 'til that day comes.

Of course we all want "glory days" and "good music" back, but I wonder how many of us will eventually realize that taste is something that changes and grows over time, and something you are praising and loving today will be completely different come a few months to a year? Have patience and don't lose heart :3 You might find yourself really liking something you once thought was weak.

Like me actually WANTING to listen to ASFXX O__o

If her ballads are good ballads, I don't mind :P :laugh I have ups and downs with her music, but it's not in like, "phases..." It's like, a few songs I don't like here and there, and then some really good ones~ I'm pretty content with Ayu's music style right now~ She's always trying new things so I'll stay with her to see what she'll try next! ^_^

A bit off topic, but I used the same method for RAINBOW. I only listened to a few times when it came out, declaring that I didn't really like the album. 2 year ago I just played it so there's some noise (while cleaning my room hehe :P), I found it was more enjoyable. Now I like it :P.

Yes, my biggest problem/worry comes from me listening to a lot of the newer releases simply because it's Ayu and not for the fact that it's good music. Sure, a lot of it grows on you after a while but I am so sick of "growers" - I want something fierce. That's the biggest thing I miss - when Ayu's releases just had that attitude and fierceness to them. Microphone was pretty in-your-face fierce so I know she still has it.

Gosh, I feel like I'm in a club all by myself in which I love almost every song the woman puts out. Not just because it's Ayu, but because I genuinely think it's excellent music. Music that only she could portray with such intensity in her voice, her lyrics and her performances. I feel like I'm alone in the fact that I don't "miss her old music" or "miss that Ayu feeling" because I don't believe that feeling went anywhere in the first place. I'm alone in the fact that I'm almost never disappointed, that she still continues to wow me and blow me away. I feel like I'm alone in my growing love, adoration and connection with Ayu and her music instead of on the constant decline like many of her other fans (she still writes my life, Days was released when I had a crush on someone lol!!!). You, my dear, have nothing to worry about. You're among friends here at AHS because many fans feel exactly the same way you do. Me on the other hand? I truly am alone in my opinions lol.

I think most people just forget that aafter years listening to the same singer/artist you might eventually wear off of them, without it necessarily being their fault. You'll get to used to everything that it gets harder to get impressed by the same vocals and band, since ayu is quite loyal to her team of professionals: band, arrangers, composers, etc. The first time I noticed that happening to em was with Do As Infinity, since their main composer was Dai Nagao. I thought they were getting more relaxed but I guess it was mostly my mind that was already to used to their style and got a bit sick of them.

And then, if you keep on forcing to compare and like the songs, you'll definitely just get unimpressed.

haha..agree..why would AHS'ers bash u lol..
is this LOVE is 1 of her best song ever =D
i somehow love her always presenting something new like virgin road :luv2

I think that's why it's difficult being a long-time fan of anyone really. The longer you're a fan the less impressed you get by their music sometimes.

It's funny because when I was on my "unimpressed by ayu" phase some time ago, I kept wondering why ayu was lacking the skills she had in some of her older songs, like pseudo-rapping with a fast singing in both Fly high and evolution (well that's sorta how I call that, don't kill me). But then I realized that she still does it but I was just not paying much attention, like in Rollin' chorus, for example.

I didn't get into Ayu until around the time MW was released, so I can't really relate to the older fans that much but I DO see where they're coming from. After sinking my teeth into her discography, I've found there's a lot more material in the past that have stuck with me more than what's been released in the past few years. Though there are a few releases in her past that left me "ehhhh", most of my least favorite albums/singles have been from 2007-present. Which coincidentally coincide with the period I started noticing the pattern she's kind of stuck in. Does this mean anything? I really can't say. RnRC was a huge disappointment as was the two singles that proceeded it, I can't be bothered to listen to any of the tracks any more even the few I initially loved. The 48th-49th singles were a big step up and then comes the big 50th which has yet to grab me. So overall, it's been quite underwhelming compared to the anniversary singles and NEXT LEVEL which I loved right away. It sucks because you want to like/love everything but it's just not possible. All I can do is hope the next album/single is better, I'm still have a lot of other things in her discography to satiate me until then.

Oh, they're coming. They must have just not seen the thread yet but there's a few people in particular who are drawn to these type of threads (though they LOVE to complain about them). :laugh

You're not alone at all, I feel the exact same way as you. Can't really say much else in this post even though I wanted to because you pretty much wrote out all my thoughts :P

Yeah! I gained a club member! :laugh

LOL I'm glad that that never was an issue to me. As I stated, for some time I was quite unimpressed by ayu, but I am not anymore. There's not a single, and I really mean it, song from ayu that I dislike other than gut-it-pez, but then gut-it-pez doesn't really count, does it? Some of her songs might take some time to grow on me, but they eventually do, and I don't really need to force myself to feel like I'm enjoying them, because I really do.

You're not alone! :love I'm the same way! By default I love all of Ayu's songs; some I just love more than others. xD And I don't hate any albums; some I just love more than others. :D

I used to be a true Ayu-fangirl years ago, there was not a single song I didn't dislike from her.
But now I'm more critic. I hear her songs also with brain. I dislke just 3 songs from her, some are meh, many others are wow and few are AMAZING YOU'RE THE TRUE QUEEN OF JPOP :roflmao. I think it's normal for a fan, there's nothing wrong.
Lately her music has more ups and downs than before, but I don't think the music quality it's so highly decreased. She's playing safely due to low sales (I mean compared to her old works, her sales are still pretty good these days though) and for keep her streak and fanbase. So she experiment less than in the past, but she's still experiment.
Most of people here have too high expectations, I think. Keep complaining because her music sucks after Memorial Address, MY STORY, (miss)understood and go on. Just let down your expectations, just a little. And enjoy her music as you can, not for compare old to new.

Do you think now that she has surpassed the #1 single streak she will take more risks?

You're not alone. I will admit that my love for Ayu was in serious danger when she released MOON/blossom because I disliked the whole sound of the single. I didn't listen to the songs more than once and was losing interest. When I heard her sing crossroad live before I heard the mp3, I was so disappointed. I was hoping for something soo epic, mostly because of the hype. But thankfully since crossroad and L released so close, I listened to them at the same time and started having an interest.

If this was any other artist, I wouldn't have given them a second chance. I would of left the forums alone for awhile and listed to their old stuff. But since this is Ayu, I wanted to give her that chance to show the fans what she had in store for her 49-49-50 singles. I'm still trying to get used to the new sound.

Me and you (Ayufan11) have almost the same taste in Ayu music (except Secret). It disappoints me that I can't experience another MY STORY or I am... album. You're not alone in the least bit. I hope that you can find future Ayu songs enjoyable to listen to..